Fanon, Flax seed and Revolution

Where can a girl go in L.A. to get her read on while enjoying the ambiance of candlelight, neo soul music and yummy (yes, I said yummy) raw food? Cru in Silver Lake, of course. This gem, located in hipster haven Sunset Junction, features cooked and uncooked vegan fare. Naturally, as soon as I settled in with Fanon and a warm bowl of butternut squash soup with a dollop of tsatsiki, in walks a boisterous party of twelve.

It’s no mean feat to tune out a rowdy bunch sitting right next to you, even if you’re engrossed in a book. I wanted to hit the door and head for quieter pastures. But about that time, my server arrived with a plate of dream rolls. Made with kim chee, spicy Portobello mushrooms, avocado, jicama rice, wakame seaweed and wrapped in a collard leaf, this piquant dish was the perfect accompaniment to decolonization theory and violent revolution.

Although the party of twelve squashed my bliss, I’m glad that more folks are growing hip to the raw foods movement. One bald-headed white diner even peeped the cover of my book, Black Skin, White Masks and gave me the black power salute.

Politics and plant food makes strange bedfellows. So I decided to stay and order dessert.

My final dish was a plate of herbed cashew cheese and fig pate, served with a side of flax seed crackers and strawberries, and drizzled with an agave nectar glacé. It’s a wonderful feeling to enjoy a three-course meal and not leave the restaurant feeling like it’s time to catch some serious ZZZs. I had energy to spare as I headed home, and I burned the midnight oil working on a new short story for grad school. The wonders of living foods.

Viva la revolution!

Rawtalian!


This ain't your grandma's Olive Garden. This scrumptious raw dish is squash spaghetti with nut meatballs and a side salad with tomatillo dressing. I took this picture last summer during a one-week stay at Optimum Health Institute in San Diego, a trip that deepened my appreciation for living foods and for the body's ability to heal itself naturally. Pass the pistachio parmesan!

During the same week at OHI, after a two-and-a-half day juice fast, we were treated to raw pizza. Don't ask what the crust is made of. Dehydrated nuts? Sprouted buckwheat? Whatever the ingredients, the slice I inhaled was delizioso! I went back for seconds.

Buon appetito!